Oldtown
Oldtown is one of the largest cities in Westeros and is by far the oldest, built by the First Men before the Andal invasion. The city is located in the south-west of the Reach, at the mouth of the river Honeywine where it opens onto Whispering Sound and the Sunset Sea beyond. It is the western terminus of the Roseroad from Highgarden and King's Landing. House Hightower have their seat at the Hightower in Oldtown. The city also hosts the Citadel. The city's Starry Sept was the seat of the Faith of the Seven until the construction of the Great Sept of Baelor in King's Landing. Other septs include the Sailor's Sept, the Lord's Sept and the Seven Shrines. Oldtown also has a motherhouse. The temples that cater to foreign sailors are all located down by the wharves. Oldtown is also one of the most important ports of the Seven Kingdoms. Trading ships from all over Westeros, as well as the Summer Islands, the Free Cities and other places across the narrow sea, constantly crowd into its harbors. The city itself is stunningly beautiful; many rivers and canals crisscross its cobbled streets, and breathtaking stone mansions are common. The city lacks the squalor of King's Landing, which usurped its position as the pre-eminent city of Westeros. However, the city is a labyrinth of wynds, alleys and streets. West of the Honeywine lie guildhalls, which sit along the shoreline. The largest structure in the city, and also the tallest structure in Westeros, is the Hightower, a massive lighthouse which extends some 800 feet into the sky and is topped by a huge beacon which can be seen for many miles out to sea. History The origins of Oldtown are lost to time. The oldest runic records of the First Men, and records from maesters that claim to have lived among the Children of the Forest, confirm men had lived at the mouth of the Honeywine since the Dawn Age. One of these maesters, Jellicoe, suggested that the settlement at the top of the Whispering Sound began as a trading post where ships from Valyria, Old Ghis, and the Summer Isles put in to replenish their provisions, make repairs, and trade with the "elder races". In the Age of Heroes, what is now the Ravenry of the Citadel was supposedly the stronghold of a pirate lord who sat there robbing ships as they came down the Honeywine. As Oldtown grew wealthy and powerful it attracted the attention of neighboring lords and petty kings, as well as that of and pirates and reafvers that heard tales of its splendor. In a single century, the city was taken and sacked by King Samwell Dayne, once by Qhored the Cruel and his ironmen and once by Gyles I Gardener, who reportedly sold three-quarters of the city's inhabitants into slavery but failed to breach the defenses of the Hightower. The city is primarily known as the location of the Citadel, home of the order of Maesters who serve as councillors, doctors, scientists, and postmasters for the Seven Kingdoms. Category:House Hightower Category:Cities Category:Reach